Girder structure for suspension-railways.



no. 629,273. A Paiemd my I8, |899.

A. MEPPEL. GKRDER STRUCTURE FDR SUSPENSIN RAILWAYS.

(Application ma 1m. so, 189e.)

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. Patented luly I8, |899. v A. RIEPPEL.

GIBDER S-'IA'RUCTURE FUR SUSPENSION RAILWAYS.

(Application led Dec. 80, 1896.)

v 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

No.' 629,273. Patentedmy |s,'|99.

A. MEPPEL. f Y GIRDEB STRUCTURE FUR SUSPENSION RAILWAYS.

(Application filed Dec. 30, 1896.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 3,

(No Model.)

WITNESS: I WIVEMTUFQ aff/Mw' /WZ A No. 629,273. Patented July I8, i899.

A.A RIEPPEL. GIBDER STRUCTURE FOR SUSPENSIUN RAILWAYS.

(Application 5 Sheets-Sheet 4Q (No Modem H0. 629,273. Y Patented lilly I8, |399.

A. BIEPPEL. GRDER STRUCTURE FUR SUSPENSIDN RAILWAIS.

(Application led Dec. 3D, 189B.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANTON RIEPPEL, OF NUREMBERG, GERMANY, ASSlGr-NOR TO liIASGHI-NENBAll ACTIEN-GESELLSOHAFT NRNBERG, OF SAME PLACE.

VGIIRDEFI STRUCTURE FOR SUSPENSlON-RAILWYS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 629,273, dated July 18, 1899.

Application filed December 30, 1896. l Serial No.-tl17,4.fi3.l (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ANToN'R1EPPEL,a subject of the King of Bavaria, and a resident of Nuremberg, Bavaria, German Empire, have invented certain new and useful'lmprovements in Girder Structures for Suspensionfor suspension-railways; and it is the object tion.

track is traveled over and one adapted to fol-v low the course described by the traelr and to provide sufficient room for the free lateral swinging of the carriage.

The invention relates to the details of construction,as will be hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accom# panying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the structure generally. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan View of the upper horizontal girder. Fig. 3 isa similar View of the lower horizontal girder as used in curves; Figs. 4 and 5, plan views of the upper and lower horizontal girders, respectively. Fig. 6. is a side elevation of the vertical and horizontal girders with the trestlev Fig. 7 is a cross-section of Fig. 8 is a detail sec- Figs.

in cross-section. the Whole structure. tional view on the line 6 6 of'Fig. 6.

9, 10, and 11 are perspective and diagram.

matic views of a modified form of construc- Figs.12 to 15ers details of said modiiication, in which Fig. 12 is aside elevation of the Vertical girder a, with the lower girder c in position,`but the upper girder b only indicated by a dotted line for clearness in order i0 show the omission of the middle beam.

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the upper girder bj girdeig which is stitfeued at the top and bottoinby two horizontally-disposed lattced or truss girders.

The upper horizontal girder b, which, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, consists of two side beams Uh? and a central beam a', all trussed together by diagonal braces 'b3 and'trans'verse ties h4, is riveted by ordinary joints k to the .I

top of the vertically-disposed girder a, Figs. 4 and 6, while the lower horizontal girder c, which, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, consists of two side beams c' c2 and a central' beam a2, trussed together by diagonal braces c3 and transverse ties c4, is similarly riveted by joints k' .to the bottom of the vertical girder a, Figs. 5 and 6. The middle beams o and a? of the `upper andl lower horizontal girders b and c serve also. as top and bottom beams for the vertical gi rder o. A A y The vertical girder ct and the horizontal girder h are together supported at each en'd at the points A and B on the trestle-legs or oscillatory supports S S', as shown in Fig( l in general perspective view and more in detail in Fig. 6, a little play being allowed between the ends as audio.4 of successive spans. The vertical loads and reactions resulting from the Weight of the carriage and of the whole girder structure are thus received by the vertical girder a and transmitted to thesupports S S' at the points 'A and B, which points also receive the horizontal `reactions of the horizontal girder b. The lower horizontal girder c, which 'is connected,`as before stated, to the vertical girdera, is further connected at each end C D to the supports S'S'bya truss formed of oblique tension-rods Z, Figs. land 5 arranged to transmit to said supports the horizontal reactions of the said girder 0, the points-C D being vertically 'belowv the points A and B. The side rbeams c c2 of the girder. c are formed as rail-carriers, as shown in" Fig. 7, and are further tied to each upper joint of the vertical girder aby means of oblique tension-rods ff', Figs. 1, 5, 14, and 15.

This improved girder structure has special advantages in that ample room is afforded for the free oscillation of the carriage (see Fig. 7) and that the structure is suitable for use in curves of any desired curvature,

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the making of curved pieces is extremely simple,for the reason that only the lower horizontfl girder c need be curved concentrically to Vthe track, while the vertical girder a and also the upper girder b may remain straight. The preparation and also the fitting up of the girder structure is not,ftherefore, complicated or rendered more difficult by the existence of curved pieces. This improved arrangement affords, moreover, a means of making the ordinarysuperstructure more advantageous than where constructions necessitating the ordinary two or more vertical girders are employed.

As is well known, in view of the alterations of length produced by variations, of temperature, it is advisable to place the su perstructures of lengthy street-railway viaducts on oscillatory supports arranged at right angles to the axis of the track, because these can be of considerably lighter construction than fixed tie beams. In straight stretches of track any desired number of vertical girdersa alongside of one another may be connected by fixed links with the upper ends of the oscilatory supports S S without impeding the free mobility of the latter, which may thus oscillate into positions parallel to themselves. On the other hand, in the case of curves in the track, the upper ends of the oscillatory supports S S' being arranged radially to the curve of the track will have their free mobility im peded when connected by more than one vertical girder a and will not, therefore, have the desired action under variations of temperature. By the use of only one vertical girder ce, however, in accordance with the present invention, which girder is mounted or supported, as hereinbefore described, at the points A C and B D, the free mobility of the oscillatory supports S S', even in curves, is 4in no way affected if only the ends CL3 a4 of the girders, as shown in Fig. 6, be movable within certain limits on their supports.

Seeing that in street-railways constructed on the suspension-rail system the use of oscillatory supports is from economic and also (owing to their light appearance) from esthetic reasons particularly desirable, this improved form of girder structure shows a very considerable technical advance.

In cases in which it is a question of diminishing as far as possible the weight and obtaining a particularly light pleasing appearance the girder structure hereinbefore describedmay be carried out in the manner shown in the accompanying drawings, Figs. 9 to 15, without affecting its firmness and stability. The middle beams a/ a2 of the upper and under horizontal girders b c, which in the form of construction shown in Figs. l to 8 formed the top and the bottom beams of the Avertical girder a, as before described, in this modified form are omitted and the strains which would have been absorbed by the above-mentioned central beams a a2 are conveyed by the diagonals b3 and c3 of the upper and under horizontal girders b and c to the side beams b b2 and c c2 of the said upper and under girders. For this purpose, as shown in Figs. l2 to lrthe vertical girdera, consisting of the diagonal braces ax and vertical tiesao, is riveted to the joints k of the diagonals b3 of the upper girder b and to the joints 7c of the under girder c. A separate plan of the girder c, without the middle beam a2, is shown, diagrammatically, in Fig. 10, and reference may be had to Fig. 5 in other respects for details of construction, the middle beam being disregarded. The diagonals h3 and c3 therefore transfer all the strain and pressure which would have been absorbed by the central beams a' a2 to the joints 'L' t" of the side beams b h2 and the corresponding joints of the respective horizontal girders c and c2. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention and in what manner the saine is to be performed, what I claim is- A i. A girder structure for suspension-railways comprising an upper horizontal trussframe, alowerhorizontaltruss-frame adapted to have the track arranged along one edge thereof and the car suspended over said edge,

- a single vertical girder connected centrally to the upper and lower truss-frames, and a support for each end of the upper frames, substantially as described.

2. A girder structure for usein curves comprising a lower horizontal girder curved concentrically to the track, the end supports extending transversely of the track in a radial line adapted to have parallel oscillatory movement, the upper straight girder and the vertical girder connecting the lower curved girder and the upper straight girder also extending in a straight line, substantially as described.

3. In combination in a girder structure the oscillatory supports or trestle the vertical girder a and the horizontal girders b and c mounted on said supports the said horizontal girders each having at their opposite ends a single supporting-point whereby the said sup` IOO IIO 

